This invention relates to a method of gathering a predetermined number of circular end closures for cans into a lot of cylindrical form, putting it into a paper bag, and closing the open end of the filled bag, all in automatic, high-speed operation. More particularly, the invention is concerned with a method which comprises shifting the direction of end closures for cans being fed horizontally at given intervals at a high speed, one after another, to be substantially perpendicular to a support passage extending substantially horizontally, receiving the pieces separately in the passage at a high speed and in positive way, lotting out the end closures when a predetermined number has been reached by the pieces received, compacting each such lot to a cylindrical form and putting the lot into an elongate paper bag, and then closing the open end of the bag.
As a method of packing a lot of end closures compacted to a solid cylindrical form, a practice is well known which consists of placing a cylindrical lot of a predetermined number of end closures over a spread sheet of paper, wrapping the sheet round the cylinder, and then glueing the outer end portion of the sheet to the underlying layer. However, the procedure is disadvantageous because it necessitates much time for the wrapping and glueing and fails to provide a completely closed bag. Moreover, no attempt has hitherto been made to count up exactly the number of end closures being fed at a high speed of 300 pieces a minute and divide the total on the basis of the count into lots of a predetermined number of pieces.